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Finding flow

  • 13 February 202213 February 2022
  • by Jo Shaw

February 2022

Finding flow, a new Thursday morning class and a new Yoga Nidra for you to try at home

How is your February unfolding?

The Celtic festival  of Imbolc arrived on 1st February, marking the beginning of Spring.  Although not all the signs of Spring are here yet, there’s a feeling in the air of new life stirring beneath the ground.  Just as we can trust that the ground will support us when we lie upon it, we can trust that the new life of Spring will arrive. 

Coming onto the yoga mat we can tap into the life-force that moves through everything in the material world (known in yoga as ‘shakti’).  We have a choice – to try to bend the world to fit with our own personal desires or aversions, or to surrender to the flow of ‘iccha shakti’ – the will of the universe. 

Trying to shape the world from our personal viewpoint is a struggle.  However much energy and passion we put into things, if our actions are not in flow with the world around us, that energy and passion will burn out.  Have you ever tried to make something happen and felt like you were pushing against a closed door?

Sometimes we act from a mental construct of how we think the world should be or how we think we should be within the world.  An alternative is to be available and open to the will of the universe – allowing events to unfold, riding the wave.  This isn’t about being passive, but requires an inner listening, without expectation of a particular outcome.  When we practice yoga we begin to surrender to iccha shakti simply with the release of a breath.  And just as we can trust that the ground will support us, we can trust that we can find that flow to drop into. 

A new in-person class on Thursday morning

I’m very pleased to say that from Thursday, 24th February, 9.30am to 11.00am, I’ll be Zooming and teaching an in-person class in St Peter’s Hall, (the Catholic Church on Tamworth Road, just around the corner from The Tree of Life).  My morning classes have been busy of late and I thought it would be useful to have another morning option.  So if you find other classes are full or if Thursday is a good day for you, it’d be great to see you there.  You can book your space here.

Thursday is Yoga Nidra day

For the last three or four months I’ve been sharing a yoga nidra at the end of my Thursday morning and Thursday evening class.  Nidra means sleep…It’s a guided practice, like a guided meditation, that takes us into the state of consciousness that we move into just before we drop off into sleep or just before we wake up.  It’s a very restful state for the mind and the body.

I have a couple of Nidra recordings on my website for you to try and I’ve just uploaded a new one, which you can find here.

Saturday morning yoga

A few people have mentioned that they prefer to practice on a Saturday morning rather than a Saturday afternoon, so I’ve moved my weekend yoga workshops at Upper Beeding and Bramber Village Hall to the morning.  The next couple of dates are:

  • Saturday, 26th February, 10am to 1pm
  • Saturday, 26th March, 9.30am to 12.30pm

It’s great to have a full three hours to practice together – as you’ll probably know I always feel like I’ve run out of time in a weekday class!  The body often takes time to soften and open, so having extra time to explore our practice further is always a treat.   If you’d like to join me you can book your space here.

Upper Beeding is only a 15 minute drive from Hove and there’s plenty of parking.  If transport is an issue please get in touch and I can co-ordinate a lift for you.

Sending love and best wishes for a fruitful 2022,

Jo

Attending to your inner fire

   Instagram

When life feels like a rollercoaster, how can we r When life feels like a rollercoaster, how can we regulate our emotions?

We often see our emotions as being closely tied to who we are.  However, emotions are universal and arise when we release hormones in the body.  If our senses pick up on a threat, adrenalin is released – we feel a quickening of the breath and a tensing of the gut.  Emotions and thoughts are triggered. 

When we release tension from the body through yoga we release endorphins – giving us a feeling of pleasure and wellbeing.  Thoughts and emotions start to dissolve or move to the periphery of our attention.   What we are left with is room for expansion – we feel lighter, more spacious, more centred.

These experiences are magnified when we practice as a group - oxytocin (the ‘love drug’ which regulates our emotions) can flow.  There is a sense of ‘dropping in’ together, a sense of connection – not to any individual in particular, but to life in general and something larger than ourselves. 

I have spaces available at my yoga afternoon next Saturday, 25th September, 2pm-5pm at Upper Beeding and Bramber Village Hall.  I’m happy to co-ordinate lifts from Hove for people who need them.
To book, visit joshawyoga.com/events 🧡

yoga #vajrasatiyoga #yogalife #yogalove #yogaclassbrighton #yogaclasshove #yogaclasshangleton  #yogateacherbrighton #yogateacherhove #yogajourney #yogapractice #yogaworkshop #wellbeing #yogastudent #yogapractitioner #yogaclasssteyning #yogaclassupperbeeding
Two more sleeps until The Space Open Day! Here ar Two more sleeps until The Space Open Day! Here are my boys and I busy delivering flyers last weekend. 

If you’re free anytime from 10am to 3pm on Saturday, why not pop your head round the door to find out more about what we have to offer, meet the team and enter our amazing prize draw:

•Free Mummy MOT @osteosian
•£50 Voucher towards a massage course @sussexschoolofnaturaltherapies
•Free 45minute Reflexology treatment @taralavelle1
•Magnesium Spa Gift set @therapy_for_change_psych
•360 Hair loss Shampoo and Conditioner @360_hair_clinic
•3 yoga classes with @joshawyoga
•Free acupuncture session with @sarahmatheson
•Nutritionist initial consultation @laura.larman
•1hr massage from @mindbody_massage
•1/2 price Energy wellness evaluation and treatment @enerygywellness
•Free 1:1 or couples counselling session @claudine
•Free term of baby massage/yoga
•5 class pass for @breathe_bend_believe_yoga evening yoga class
•Free place on a Breath workshop with @thebreath_works ✨

#yoga #vajrasatiyoga #yogalife #yogalove #yogaclassbrighton #yogaclasshove #yogaclasshangleton #hangleton #yogateacherbrighton #yogateacherhove #yogajourney #yogapractice #wellbeing #the_space_hove
What happens when we practice yoga?  We start to What happens when we practice yoga? 

We start to notice how we are – not just physically, but also energetically, mentally and emotionally.

Because we’re all unique, we each engage differently with a physical sensation or an instruction/suggestion. We all experience life through the lens of our own conditioning. Our habits affect the way we move, the way we think, how we interpret how we feel.

But despite our differences, when we practice yoga we all drop into a shared experience of letting go. There is nothing to fix. The goal is not to somehow craft a ‘new you’, but to strip away - layer by layer - our habits, the weight of our identity, our sense of being separate from the world around us. In the words of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, we ‘still the fluctuations of the heart-mind’ and ‘rest in our essence nature’.

These moments of connection can be fleeting. Other outcomes of our practice are more constant – maintaining a functional range of movement, calming the nervous system, releasing feel-good endorphins, improving circulation and releasing toxins.

Yoga is best approached with ‘a beginner’s mind’…empty of expectation, as if we were coming to the mat for the first time. As we surrender to the experience our inner landscape begins to open up.

“Practice yoga…all is coming.” Pattabhi Jois

You’re welcome to join me for my next weekend yoga afternoon - Saturday, 25th September, 2pm to 5pm at Upper Beeding & Bramber Village Hall.  
   
All details of classes and upcoming events are at joshawyoga.com

Photo credit: Simon Godfrey

#yoga #vajrasatiyoga #yogalife #yogalove #yogaclassbrighton #yogaclasshove #yogaclasshangleton #hangleton #yogateacherbrighton #yogateacherhove #yogajourney #yogapractice #yogaworkshop #wellbeing #yogastudent #yogapractitioner
How can we be grounded and yet feel light?  Roote How can we be grounded and yet feel light?  Rooted to the earth while finding an opening, a softness and lightness in the body that is reflected in our mental state.  Finding space…in the body, between movements, within the breath.

I have a few spaces available at my half day retreat on Sunday 11th July (2pm – 6pm) at the beautiful Yoga by Nature (www.yogabynature.co.uk) in Bolney. 

There’ll be asana (postures), pranayama (breathwork) and yoga nidra (yogic sleep)…as well as delicious tea and cake and time to walk in the beautiful Pickwell estate.

You can book your space at joshawyoga.com/events

Photo credit: Kazuend

#yoga #vajrasatiyoga #yogalife #yogalove #yogaclassbrighton #yogaclasshove #yogaclasshangleton #hangleton #yogateacherbrighton #yogateacherhove #yogajourney #yogapractice #yogaworkshop #wellbeing #yogastudent #yogapractitioner #yogaathome #tree_of_life_centre_hove #the_space_hove #yogabynature_
We are all interconnected – this has come into s We are all interconnected – this has come into sharp focus for me during the pandemic.   Over the last year I’ve been expanding the web of people who support me, either directly or indirectly.

It's a long list...through treatments from @James_Adatia Osteopath, amazing Cranio Sacral sessions with @margaritabennett, massage with the wonderful Eva (www.evolvetransform.co.uk), enrolling on online courses with @yoganidranetwork and @the.shift.network, listening to the words of great teachers such as @jimtarranyoga @khadinemorcomyoga and @john_stirk, and to inspiring podcasts from @kate_codrington.   And not forgetting conversations with some of the wise souls in my life including @taralavelle1, Tika from @yogabynature_ and Benita @psych_change - and others!  

I sometimes find invisible hands supporting me when I surrender into my yoga practice.  These are actual real-life hands!  Thank you to all my guides and fellow travellers.  You support me so I’m able to support others.

It’s all out there if you choose to look.  Have you considered expanding your web of support?

#yoga #vajrasatiyoga #yogalife #yogalove #yogaclassbrighton #yogaclasshove #yogaclasshangleton #yogateacherbrighton #yogateacherhove #yogajourney #yogapractice #yogaworkshop #wellbeing #yogastudent #yogapractitioner #yogaathome #tree_of_life_centre_hove #the_space_hove
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